Maintiens Le Droit

Canada's Federal police force has suffered a rather horrendous loss in Alberta: 4 officers shot dead trying to serve a warrant against what turned out to be a marijuana grow-op. The irony is that they weren't initially there because it was a grow-op..they were just serving a warrant against one James Roszko..who is evidently something of a known lunatic in the area. One story had it that the RCMP hasn't suffered this kind of loss since 1885, by which I imagine they mean the battle of Duck Lake during the North West Rebellion. Sad business, all in all. But I'd still like to know what a "rapid fire auto carbine assault style rifle" is.

Addendum: Once again, the delightful Kate proves invaluable: the 'rapid fire auto carbine assault style rifle' turns out, apparently, to be the Heckler and Koch HK-91. Which is neither a carbine, nor automatic, nor 'assault style' whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. I understand it when media screws things up like weapons..but I'll be damned if I can understand it when our federal law enforcement agency can't avoid a twisted phrase like 'rapid fire auto carbine assault style rifle'. Incidentally, under the Canadian Firearms act the HK91 (semi auto) is a 12(5) Prohibited weapon..which means that one has to have a 12(5) Prohibited weapons note on one's Possession and Acquisition licence to own one...Mr. Roszko, having a criminal record, ought not to have had a PAL at all..and so owned this weapon illegally...